Flow of Information

[Baddad (Marty)]

In the short time I have stalked this Forum I have noticed a commonly asked question by beginners. "What's the best scope for me?"

I am not aware if the following idea has been forwarded in the past.
To help members to pass on info to beginners maybe a questionaire form be compiled, or perhaps an info form which states the capabilities or disabilities of each system.

The questionaire form would save time. Once a beginner answers the questions of what they want the system to do; the viewing conditions, the financial situation, etc. The members of IIS can put their expert opinions forward.

To develope the form I advise to leave my suggestions out of it, but IIS members contribute the type of questions that they need answered to best help newbies.

An initial draft is thrown to the lions.... er members and eventually made available to newbies.

How do the experienced operators feel about this?

[Quark (Trevor)]

Hi Marty,

As you point out the "What's the best scope for me" question seems to get a run quite frequently.

I am not sure just how many of these people actually work through all of the excellent articles in the "Sticky" section of the beginners forum first.

Those articles are very worthwhile and at the end of the day, there really is only one person that can answer that question. If a beginner reads through the available material, put there for precisely that purpose and then seeks out their nearest astro club or group and checks out the various equipment that other people have, then they are in the position of being able to make decisions themselves on what would suite them.

There is nothing like getting hands on experience within a club or group to help make this decision.

Regards
Trevor

[Baddad (Marty)]

Ahh! I see your point Trevor and a valid one it is.
As a beginner I looked at this forum and at first it appeared overwhelming.
I am more familiar with the operation of it now. It is quite good. I don't like to 'fix' things if they are working. Any person in their right mind leaves those things alone. "Don't fix it if its working!"

But that does not mean you can't modify it a little seeking improvement.

[Dennis]

Phillip Harrington in his “Star Ware” series of books has a “Telescope Pop Quiz” where he lists a series of multiple choice questions, with scores allocated to each choice, and the reader then selects the answers most suited to them, tallies up their score and then Harrington provides some guidance in the format:

“If your score is between….”
“Then a good telescope for you may be….”

And he goes on to list binos, refractors, reflectors, SCT’s etc of different sizes depending on the scores.

My personal experience with such a Q&A approach, is that although it may not highlight your ideal ‘scope/mount easily and immediately, it can certainly alert you as to what you are not looking for, which considerably narrows down the search scope (pun intended)!

Cheers

Dennis

[Baddad (Marty)]

Thanks for that info Dennis. It now is apparent that the idea is not new.
I wish I had that info from you Dennis, some weeks ago before I bought my scope.

[Dog Star (Phil)]

Originally Posted by Quark

Hi Marty,

As you point out the "What's the best scope for me" question seems to get a run quite frequently.

I am not sure just how many of these people actually work through all of the excellent articles in the "Sticky" section of the beginners forum first.

Those articles are very worthwhile and at the end of the day, there really is only one person that can answer that question. If a beginner reads through the available material, put there for precisely that purpose and then seeks out their nearest astro club or group and checks out the various equipment that other people have, then they are in the position of being able to make decisions themselves on what would suite them.

There is nothing like getting hands on experience within a club or group to help make this decision.

Regards
Trevor

Whilst I certainly can't argue with the general thrust of what you're saying Trev, I feel obliged to point out that not everyone can access a local astronomy club.
My position was that I had to troll through the many posts before deciding that I probably needed a dob.
Then I threw it open on the forums as to what size might be best.
Not disputing the general tenor of what you're saying (it's actually very good advice) but maybe Marty has expressed a good idea?

[Baddad (Marty)]

Thanks Phil, your support is appreciated. I am mainly replying to express much envy of your resident position. I assume it must be near sensational at times?? Alice Springs.

Re: The questionaire. I imagined there would be a few out there who may have benefited from such an info device. I can see how it would have saved me a lot of time searching.
I wonder if it has anything to do with looking through the eyes of a beginner as opposed to a more knowledgable hobbyist who would know where to go for info.